5 Steps to Achieving a Mindful Relationship with Technology

Technology makes life easier in so many ways, but it can also be a source of stress and anxiety. To make your relationship with technology mindful try following these five steps:

1. Soulful slumbers – make the bedroom a no technology zone.  No mobile phones, tablets, laptops, televisions or gaming devices etc. Just the presence of a phone nearby will increase a stress hormone called cortisol and this can lead to us feeling anxious at the time when we should be falling asleep. In an attempt to reduce anxiety levels we can often find ourselves checking our phones and e-mails in order to reassure ourselves that we haven’t missed anything and to reduce our stress hormone level. This habit in itself can be stressful and disruptive to sleep as it can become repetitive and compulsive.
2. Get an alarm clock – stop using your smart phone as an alarm! Invest in a cheap and cheerful alarm clock because when you use your smart phone as an alarm clock it is just too tempting to check out your e-mails and notifications before you’ve even got out of bed.
3. Employ the 60 minute time out rule – this means no technology for an hour before bedtime. This is a really good rule to abide by because viewing screens changes circadian rhythms and sleep patterns and increase risk of insomnia and disturbed sleep patterns.
4. Embrace the boredom. We live in such a fast paced world of instant gratification that when we do get five minutes of stillness and quiet we feel the need to fill it and usually the first thing we usually reach for is our phone or laptop. As adults we shouldn’t be feeling the need to fill every moment of our time, but we should learn to embrace stillness as this is our opportunity for creative thoughts to flow and a chance for us to catch up with our thoughts. We are missing so much by constantly seeking to lose ourselves in technology distractions.
5. Ditch the multi-tasking myth. The existence of the Haggis and multi-tasking are sadly just a figment of our imaginations. There is no such thing as multi-tasking. We have to attend to one task and one stream of information at a time. Whether male or female the fact of the matter is the more inputs we are monitoring the longer it takes to accomplish the tasks at hand, so multi-tasking just means that we will do two tasks slower and with less attention than one. So this means no checking phones and e-mails when eating. No scrolling through a phone when attending to another task and the list goes on.

Whilst trying out these five tips you could always try to increase your mindfulness with some meditation or breathing exercises.

Mal Weeraratne is a certified Tantra Educator founder of Tantric Journey, School of Healing and Awakening and author of Emotional Detox through Bodywork. Mal Weeraratne is a British pioneer of emotional release through bodywork, with over 20 years experience, treating over 3000 clients from all walks of life from the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. If you would like to find out more about Mal Weeraratne and Tantric Journey, then visit the website here.